Power and Wealth

Morning, 8 am.

The rain got heavier, and the wind got stronger.

After leaving Geng Yuehua’s apartment, Dong Xuebing returned to his unit and closed the door. He placed his umbrella and bag on the table and decided not to go out for breakfast. The weather was fine earlier, but the rain started. He doesn’t want to get all wet, and he stood by the windows to admire the rain.

As Dong Xuebing was smoking, he could smell the scent of washing detergent.

He looked at his hand and wondered why there was a strong detergent fragrance, as he did not wash his clothes today. Huh? It must be that pair of dark red underwear he held in Geng Yuehua’s apartment. It was damp, and the detergent fragrance must have stained his hand.

This is too alluring.

Dong Xuebing used his other hand to hold his cigarette and started to let his imaginations run wild. What is the District Mayor’s underwear material? It was soft and silky, but it can absorb water. Cotton? It doesn’t feel like cotton too.

Sigh… why am I keep thinking about that pair of underwear?

Suddenly, Dong Xuebing saw a familiar figure walking out of the quarters with a black umbrella. She is wearing a pair of grey pants and a white blouse. The pretty District Mayor Geng Yuehua is going out during a storm, and Dong Xuebing saw her making calls while walking towards her car.

“I will go to the accident scene now! Send a few more ambulances!”

“Ask Chief Sun to send his men! Seal off the road to prevent more accidents!”

“What? He is uncontactable!? What the hell is he doing?! I will hold him responsible if I don’t see him at the scene in ten minutes!”

“Contact him immediately! Safety is our priority! Ask them to do their best to save lives!”

Everyone in the quarters can hear Geng Yuehua’s shouting, and people looked out of their windows. But they were not surprised to see it was District Mayor Geng Yuehua. They are used to her working style because she was Guang Ming Subdistrict Office’s former Party Secretary. She was given the nickname “The Black-faced District Mayor” by the staff.

Dong Xuebing knew it must be a chain accident from Geng Yuehua’s shouting into her phone. Government Leaders are the busiest when there’s a sudden change in the weather.

But this pretty District Mayor is loud and fierce.

Dong Xuebing doesn’t like overbearing Leaders as they are mostly unreasonable. He still prefers Leaders like Xie Huilan, who is always smiling. At least, Xie Huilan will not bang tables or stare at her subordinates all the time. He got a headache when he thinks he will have to face Geng Yuehua in the future. He snubbed his cigarette and called Office Director Zhou Yanru.

“Hello, Director.”

“Is there an accident in the District?”

“Yes, I heard about it too. It seems to be a chain collision between seven to eight cars.”

“I think the rain will not stop anytime soon. Inform the staff to take note of the traffic junctions in our Subdistrict and take precautions to prevent accidents.”

“Ok. I will call them now.”

Dong Xuebing puts down his phone and stops thinking about Geng Yuehua’s underwear. The rain is too heavy for him to go out, and he wonders what he should do over the weekends. That’s right. I still don’t know how to use REVERSE and didn’t have time to experiment with it. I must figure out its purpose and cannot waste this power.

MENU! Dong Xuebing checked his remaining time. 7 minutes and 10 seconds. He had used it a while ago, and he accumulated this time during this period.

Let’s try it again!

REVERSE!

Dong Xuebing said the command, and the countdown started.

7 minutes and 9 seconds!

7 minutes and 8 seconds!

7 minutes and 7 seconds!

Dong Xuebing looked around him and noticed it was the same as his experiments in the past. Nothing changed.

REVERSE!

The countdown stopped!

Dong Xuebing rubbed his chin and thought about it before saying REVERSE again.

One minute….

Five minutes….

Ten minutes….

Dong Xuebing used REVERSE several times, but other than using up his accumulated time, nothing happened!

What’s wrong with this Command? How do I use it?!

REVERSE in Mandarin has a similar meaning to BACK. But the effect of BACK is obvious, but REVERSE is not.

How do I REVERSE? I don’t understand!

Dong Xuebing decided to stop his experiments when he is left with two minutes. It is meaningless to go on, and it’s just a waste of his time.

Dong Xuebing thought for a while and decided to experiment with it another time.

Dong Xuebing leaned against the windows and continued to smoke. He thought about the command. Reverse… reverse… reverse…

A few seconds later, Zhou Yanru called. “Director, we have sent staff to check on the traffic junctions. Everything is fine, and there are not many cars.”

Dong Xuebing nodded. “Good.”

“Do you have any other instructions?”

Growling… Dong Xuebing’s stomach growled loudly. He is hungry, and he asked. “There are no more official matters for now. Sister Zhou, do you have eggs at home? Can you lend me two eggs?”

Zhou Yanru paused for a second. “Yes. You…”

Dong Xuebing did not keep anything from her. “I was about to go out for breakfast, but it rained suddenly. My fridge is empty, and I am starving. Haha…”

“Ok. I will go over to your unit now.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. This is nothing.”

Zhou Yanru appeared outside of Dong Xuebing’s apartment with bags of groceries. He saw her carrying the vegetables, meat, and other food and smiled wearily. “This is too much food for me. I only need two eggs.”

Zhou Yanru, in her home clothes, entered Dong Xuebing’s apartment. “I am afraid the rain will not stop soon and brought more groceries over for you. Don’t worry about this. My husband had gone to the market yesterday and bought too many groceries. We still have a lot of food at home. Haha…” She rolled up her sleeves. “I will prepare breakfast for you.”

There was a flash of lightning, and thunder roared.

Dong Xuebing looks out of the window and turns to Zhou Yanru. “How can I trouble you with this? I can do it myself.”

“No.” Zhou Yanru laughed. “I might not seem like, but I am a dutiful wife and loving mother. I do all the household chores at home, and I will let you taste my cooking today. I still have not eaten my breakfast too. Haha…” Dong Xuebing’s mood got better after hearing her babbling.

“You still have not taken your breakfast?” Dong Xuebing is afraid Zhou Yanru’s husband might get the wrong idea. “Ask your husband to come over for breakfast too.”

Zhou Yanru laughed and walked towards the kitchen. “He is still sleeping at home and always skips breakfasts on weekends.”

Three sunny-side-up eggs and two bowls of watery porridge are placed on the table about five minutes later.

Zhou Yanru is skilled in cooking, but everyone has different tastes. Her family should prefer stronger flavors, and the food is slightly saltier.

Dong Xuebing continued to think about REVERSE while eating.

Where did I go wrong? How come I can’t see the effect?

Something must have happened which I did not notice or discover.

After finishing the eggs, Dong Xuebing looks at Zhou Yanru, who is drinking the porridge. “Do you know the meaning of REVERSE?”

Zhou Yanru replied embarrassedly. “English? I don’t know English, but I can speak simple Russian.”

Dong Xuebing also laughed and waved his hand to show it doesn’t matter.

REVERSE was activated when Dong Xuebing said it.

1 minute 58 seconds….

1 minute 57 seconds….

Dong Xuebing wants to deactivate it as he doesn’t want to waste his remaining time. But before he can say the word to deactivate it, there was a loud thunderclap!

Rumble!

It was so loud that their ears hurt!

Zhou Yanru jumped, and even Dong Xuebing’s hands shook. Crash… Dong Xuebing accidentally knocks a glass of water off the dining table.

The glass shattered!

Zhou Yanru stood up and asked anxiously. “Did it cut you?”

“I’m fine. Haha…” Dong Xuebing laughed and looks at the glass shards. He bent over to pick it and forgot to deactivate REVERSE.

1 minute 50 seconds….

1 minute 49 seconds….

1 minute 48 seconds….

The countdown is continuing.

When Dong Xuebing picks up a piece of glass shard lightly, he saw something unbelievable. A few small shards flew up from the floor gathered in his palm. Crack… crack… the pieces of glass shards quickly joined back to become glass without cracks!

Damn!

Dong Xuebing is stunned. What the hell is going on?!

Is this… what REVERSE does?!